What You Wish For
by Noelle17
Summary: Buffy gets a little reward for saving someone...Just read. It'll be worth it. NEW CHAPTER 3
1. Demons

Title:

Title: What You Wish For

Disclaimer: Characters all belong to Joss and company. The title is from a Guster song. All I own are the words.

A/N: So I may have lied a bit about saying I was only going to do one shots. About twenty minutes after I said that, I got this idea and realized it couldn't really be a one shot without changing it quite a lot. It's just one of those things I had to write, you know? So you know the summary…time wise, it takes place after Willow and Giles get back from England at the beginning of S7 but before the potentials come.

Feedback: Is a must.

Distribution: Ask first.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1-

"Um, OW! Can't you guys ever throw me onto something, I don't know, not concrete?" I sprang out of my sprawled position next to the tombstone and regained a fighting stance as the yellowish demon came charging at me again. I attempted a roundhouse to the face, but the demon caught it, and sent me spinning into the mausoleum ten feet away. "Guess not." I rose to my feet and the fight continued through the cemetery, ending with the demons head a good few feet from it's body and thick, purple slime covering me from head to toe. "Ugh. Purple is not my color."

I walked over to where my favorite battle ax had landed in the dirt and wiped it off on the grass. Heaving it over my shoulder, I began the walk home.

"Buffy, are you alright?!" Willow rushed to the door as soon as I stumbled through, the cut above my eye still bleeding.

"Yeah, Will, I'm fine. Mainly demon blood. Big guy though. Not my favorite ever." I peeled my sweater off my body and over my head, immediately throwing into the trash. There was no way those stains were coming out.

"What was it?" Giles removed his glasses as he came into the room, an open book in his other hand.

"I have no idea. I've never seen one of these before."

"Well, did it have any distinguishing marks? Uncommon physical attributes?" He seemed slightly exasperated but honestly, after seven years, one demon isn't that different from another in my book.

"He was big. Yellow. Purple on the inside apparently. Horns on the sides of his head. He seemed to be protecting whatever he was carrying while we were fighting. That was odd, I guess." I shrugged. All I really wanted to do was get out of these clothes and into the shower.

"What was it carrying?"

"Something shiny…I didn't really get a good look at it and then when I killed him, he fell on top of it. It broke and kind of just vaporized. It was weird."

"It vaporized?"

"Yeah. Does that mean anything to you?" Before my full question even got out he was searching to find a variety of books. Research is my exit cue. "I'm going to go shower."

_The next day…_

"Dawn, let's go! You need to get to school!"

"I know, I know. Just gimme a second."

"Seriously, I'm walking out the door right now and if you aren't down here in two seconds, you won't have a-" I was cut off as I left the house and immediately stumbled into something – someone – behind me. "Who are you?"

"I am Aurora, mistress. I am here to serve you."

A/N: Okay I know this chapter is short but I really didn't know how to start this. I know how I want it to end. So bear with me. This is just setting things up. Review!


	2. I Wish

Chapter 2: I Wish

Chapter 2: I Wish

Feedback: Yes, please.

Distribution: Ask, don't take.

A/N: As always, titles are for songs. So this one is for a song off the Happy Feet soundtrack and chapter 1 is a Guster song. Enjoy!

"You're who?"

"Aurora, miss. I'm here to grant you true bliss." Bliss? I highly doubt that. She keeps smiling, blinding white teeth behind peach colored lips. She's beautiful, I'll give her that. Ta

n, dark hair cascading down her back, dressed in turquoise satins. I've never seen anyone like her.

"Buffy!" Giles comes running in, breathless, book still in hand. Can my house ever be like…calm?

"What's up?" He holds out the book to me.

"Is this your demon?"

"Yup, that's the one. What's his deal?"

"It is quite a rare demon. They are called the Contraho. It translates to collector in Latin. They collect mystical items either of high worth or greatly unusual. Whatever it was that was broken when he fell must have been quite uncommon. And seeing as he was after you, there must be something in your possession also of great mystical worth. However, as so few of them still exist on this plane, I would feel confident in saying that you are no longer at risk. For the time being, at least."

"Well good. Then I can deal with her." I stepped to the side and motioned to Aurora, who he apparently had overlooked completely. "Aurora, Giles. Giles, Aurora."

"Hello, sir. And who are you?" Did she just curtsy?

"Lovely to meet you Aurora. I'm…well, I'm a friend of Buffy's." He stumbles over his words a little bit. Giles has never been a stellar liar. "And you?"

"I am an enslaved servant." She ducked her head slightly, as if ashamed although she bestowed the title upon herself.

"A servant?" Giles looked puzzled.

"She said she's here to serve me…to give me bliss. Does she have anything to do with this demon?"

"Perhaps…Aurora, are-are you a genie?" Genie?! And I thought I'd seen everything.

"Yes. I have been enslaved by the Contraho demon for the past 1000 years, and you released me from my gold prison." She said with a pointed look to me. "For that, I am eternally grateful."

"A genie? Seriously? Cool." I'm actually getting rewarded for something? Things may be looking up.

"A genie. I was under the impression that they were myths, popularized by films…I had no idea they actually existed." Giles was in awe, always excited for something new.

"Well, there are very few of us still in existence. And we do not often walk with humans. For the majority of our long lives, we exist solely in our lamps. Only every once in a while are we released to do good on this earth."

"And you're here to 'grant me true bliss'?" This is all a little bizarre, even for the Hellmouth.

"I am sure you have heard of the work our people do. Those who are deserving are granted their three greatest wishes." She smiles at me and it is a smile that reaches the soul. I have never seen someone of such purity before.

"So I get to tell you three things I want and poof, they're mine?" This is way too awesome. Anything I want…narrowing it down to three things is going to be tricky.

"That part of our legend is a myth. Your mind does not choose your wishes. Genies not only grant, but they read. We can see to your soul and we grant what is in your heart…your deepest desire whether you know it or not."

"But what if you want most deeply isn't good? What if terrible things could happen because of it?" Giles is all questions as he rifles through his books, undoubtedly trying to find a record of a genie.

"If that was true of one's desires, they would not be worthy of the genie in the first place. Only those of true good can release a genie. We are only released unintentionally to ensure that the recipient of our gift is true of heart." She kindly answers Giles' question before turning back to me.

"So then when do I get my wishes?" I can barely contain my excitement.

With a slight nod of the head she answers, "They have already been granted."

A/N: Short again. Things will start picking up a bit from here. And hopefully be less centered around dialogue. Stay tuned…


	3. More Than A Feeling

Disclaimer: They're still not mine. The title comes from a song by Boston.

Feedback: Pretty please…

A/N: Whooo chapter 3. Thank you to Harry2 for reading, reviewing, and subscribing. You're awesome. I'd love it if you'd read some of my other stuff and give me some feedback. Thanks. As always, enjoy!

It has been almost two days since Aurora came to us, and so far no wish-y goodness. I was getting impatient. It's bad enough waiting for something that you want, presumably more than anything else, but to not even know what that something is? It makes time crawl by. I passed the time as best I could, but to make matters even worse the demon activity was pretty low. Maybe they sensed a mystical disturbance. With Willow back in town and a genie, there was a pretty heavy magical presence. Willow's doing much better, red hair and all, but even I can feel the magic radiating from her. I've never gotten all the Slayer sense Giles says I should have, but Willow has become more powerful than anyone I've ever met, including all the dimensions I've been to. If she was still practicing, I'd ask her to speed up time. These past couple of days, it's just been crawling by. It makes me anxious, this waiting. It throws me. A distracted slayer does not make a good slayer. All I can hope for is that something changes soon, and until then, I can relax.

"Buffy?" Willow looks up from the book she's had her head in, startling me. I shake my head and turn to her.

"What's up?" I curl my hands around the cup of tea in front of me, trying to absorb some of its warmth. The sun is going down but the windows are still open and a cold breeze is blowing through.

"Are you alright?" She doesn't look concerned, despite her question. But Willow's always known me better than anyone and she can probably tell that what I need right now is someone to talk to.

"Yeah, I'm just…" I look down into my lap, trying to gather my thoughts. "I feel off. I feel so many things right now and I can't pick them apart. It's like when I could hear thoughts. I could hear them all. Right now, I feel everything and it's difficult to know what's going on. It's like things have been so quick paced lately until now and we have this lull but it just confuses me."

"And I'm guessing it doesn't help that you're the most impatient person in the world?" she teased, grinning at me.

"Probably not," I laugh. "I just need something to happen. I thought that all I ever wanted was normalcy, but now I have some semblance of it, and all I want is some vampires to slay." I smile at my words, realizing how ridiculous they sound.

"You realize you sound crazy, right?"

"Yeah. But it makes sense to me. My life is stable. No apocalypse, I have you back, Dawn and I are doing well for the first time since we lost Mom…things are okay. But it feels odd." I shake my head. I can't seem to take what I'm thinking and turn it into words. "No. That's not it. I wouldn't trade what we have right now for anything. I just can't seem to grasp how to be normal. At least when demons are trying to end the world, I know what to do."

"You're wacky, you know that?" Willow stands up and walks over to me to give me a hug, laughing.

"Maybe a little," I reply. I stand with her and loop my arm through hers. "Movie?"

"Absolutely."

"Just let me take a quick shower and then we can go." I unhook myself from her and begin walking up the stairs.

The shower helps me clear my head quite a bit but I still feel off. I can't put my finger on it but it's been lingering for the past couple of days, ever since Aurora got here. I wander into my room, where she's been sleeping. We decided together that it would be best if she sticks around until everything is sorted out. We don't want any more demons coming after her if we can help it. I find her sitting on my bed in lotus position, eyes closed.

"Aurora?" I tap on the door, not wanting to alarm her.

"Yes, miss?" She blinks at me as a smile spreads across her face, always welcoming.

"Well, for one thing, could you please stop calling me miss? I'm just Buffy." I walk into the room and sit down in front of her on the bed, mirroring her position.

"I'm sorry, of course. What can I help you with, Buffy?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about this wish thing."

"Ah yes. You are anxious. You want to know what is coming." I wonder how it feels to always know what people are feeling. Probably something like always being able to know what people think.

"Yeah, that's part of it. I am definitely ready to know what it is that I want. You would think that I, of all people, would know what I want but I guess it's more difficult to figure it out than I thought. But I guess I can wait. It will be worth it, I'm sure. What I really wanted to ask you about is this odd feeling I've been having ever since you arrived here." I raise my head to look at her and find her sitting with her eyes closed again.

"This feeling of yours could be any number of things. You are the Slayer, so you may be particularly sensitive to my magical energy. It may be a side effect of the readings I've been doing on you. You have strong emotions, Buffy."

"Yeah, I've been told that I'm too emotional, I let it cloud my focus, yada yada yada. I feel what I feel. I can't really control that."

"Of course. All I mean is that you may want to occasionally talk to people about what you're feeling, let some of it out. You may find it helps clarify things."

"Maybe. Well, thanks. I just hope this feeling goes away soon. It's distracting." I unknot my legs and lift myself off the bed to start towards the door.

"I have a feeling it will be quite soon."

Shaking my head at her words, more confused than anything, I exit the room and start down the stairs. Willow is waiting for me on the couch, and she stands as I enter the room.

"Ready to go?" She slings her purse over her shoulder and fishes her keys out.

"Yep. Let's go."

She opens the door and suddenly Aurora's words make complete sense to me, as does this feeling of mine. He stands in front of us, his eyes immediately connecting with mine, his hand raised as if he was about to knock, and I almost fall over from surprise.

"Angel?"

A/N: And there's chapter three. Chapter four should be up sometime this weekend so stay tuned.


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